Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in edible oils: An overview on sample preparation, determination strategies, and relative abundance of prevalent compounds

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are food contaminants whose presence in foodstuffs is especially alarming due to their carcinogenic character. These substances are highly lipophilic and thus, unsafe levels of these compounds have been found in edible fats and oils. Efficient methodologies to determine such molecules in lipidic matrixes are therefore essential. In this review, a detailed description of the analytical methods for the determination of PAHs in vegetable oils from the last 15 years has been provided. Particular emphasis has been placed on innovative sample treatments, which facilitate and shorten the pretreatment of the oils. Finally, results from recent investigations have been reviewed and studied in depth, in order to elucidate which PAHs are most commonly found in vegetable oils.

A molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor based on a MoS2/peanut shell carbon complex coated with AuNPs and nitrogen‐doped carbon dots for selective and rapid detection of benzo(a)pyrene

“…The resulting water layer was removed, dried under nitrogen flow at room temperature and then dissolved in 1 mL of acetonitrile solution. Finally, the mixture was centrifuged at 15 984 g for 10 min and the supernatant solution was analysed by the MIP sensor (Sánchez‐Arévalo et al., 2020).…”

Refining Vegetable Oils: Chemical and Physical Refining

“…Indeed, these molecules can give bad taste and smell and could affect the functional properties of the oil [ 9 – 11 ]. Vegetable oils can also contain some contaminants: pesticides, trace metals, mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH), aflatoxins, dioxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) [ 12 , 13 ], and organic solvent traces, [ 14 , 15 ]. The origin of these pollutants could be attributed to the environment under which oleaginous crops are grown, seeds are transported and stored, and crude oils are processed and stored [ 15 ].…”

Monitoring and Occurrence of Heavy PAHs in Pomace Oil Supply Chain Using a Double-Step Solid-Phase Purification and HPLC-FLD Determination

“…Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large class of compounds characterized by the fusion of two or more aromatic rings and are classified into light and heavy according to the number of benzene rings, i.e., 2–3 in the former case and 4–6 in the latter [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Due to their chemical structure, PAHs are poorly soluble in water but highly affinitive to non-polar solvents and oils [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

“…PAHs are ubiquitous environmental and processing contaminants generated by both spontaneous and anthropogenic incomplete combustion processes of organic matter [ 2 , 3 , 6 ]. PAHs can affect human health through various harmful effects, mostly related to carcinogenesis and mutagenesis in addition to immunosuppressive effects [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Humans are exposed to PAHs through a variety of routes (ingestion, inhalation, skin contact), the primary route being food [ 8 , 9 ].…”

“…Over the years, many analytical methods have been proposed for PAHs analysis in different food matrices; for more information, the readers are directed toward the many reviews available in the literature [ 3 , 6 , 8 , 9 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Herein, we will focus on the determination of PAHs in edible oil, which is particularly challenging due to the high affinity of the PAHs with the whole composition of the matrix [ 1 , 4 ]. Since PAHs are present at lower levels than triglycerides, it is necessary to isolate the compounds of interest from the rest of the matrix [ 1 , 21 ].…”